The Fruit of a Repentant Heart: Turning Back to God

Well, it's good to see everybody. we are we got a group of about 20 is it 18 or 20 ladies that are in Tulsa tonight. So that's where we have the extra dance space tonight. So if you decide to get wild and do a little jig, help yourself, okay? You got room tonight. but they're having a great time. I've talked to Nah a little bit. Just text some. But the girls had a great time. They got there last night. They went to dinner and then this morning was Church at Guts Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is if you're relatively new here, that's our home Church that N and I came from. And very cool thing, this is just fun for me. May not mean much to you guys, but it's something special for me today. is 5 years to the day that I moved from Tulsa, moved to Van Beern. And there's something really special about that to me. a that it's been 5 years, but b to get to preach exactly 5 years to the date. And I remember being on the front porch of our house and our Tulsa friends being there and praying over us and celebrating, encouraging. It was there was tears and there was excitement and there was nervousness and didn't know what we're doing. And people in Tulsa say, "Were you going to take over your dad's business? " I said, "No.

" And they said, "Were you going to start a Church? " And I said, "No. " They said, "What are you going for? " I said, "I don't know, but I know this. five years to the day. I sure like where I'm at and I like being here with you guys and I'm glad you're here and I believe God's doing something really remarkable in our life and our midst and it's pretty neat to me that on the day I mean again it is what it is but to think that Nah has 18 or 20 ladies with her in Tulsa that connection is still alive and God dropped in my heart that any new ground I take is ground that they gain and any ground that I already have is ground that you gain. And it's not about me in that regard, but it was my decision to come. And that was how God encouraged me. And so when I get to see the interaction, the growth happening. We have a young man that's an intern at Guts Church this year., many of you guys know Kase, Dan and Cherish's Son, Kase is an intern this year., he's in his second month. That's very cool. They're currently there for a women's event. And, and then of course Chris has been here for the men's., she'll be back this year. We'll have it. Our plan is January 10th. Fells are going to go ahead and Mark your calendars. we want to get the Word out, fill that place up, but we're going to have another men's event in January.

It's just fun to watch it all happen. And I'm just telling you, there's so much growth and opportunity in front of us. Some of you I probably open up to most everybody because I'm pretty well an open book and I don't know how not to share the ideas and things are in my heart, but a few of you are really poured out to. And I'm just telling you, there is so much growth and so much opportunity and so much potential for impact and ideas and things that we can do to just number one, enjoy the ride together, have fun doing things., there's a part of life that's just fun. And I know I've joked a lot about Church should be fun, and I do think Church should be fun, but life should have some fun TO IT, TOO. LIFE'S HARD. We and we and it's easy to talk about the hard. I challenged my kids today. We were at lunch. I'm gonna pick on them. One of them's in the room, but that's okay. They they have a tendency. They're siblings. I don't know if you guys have any siblings, but they have a tendency to like just kind of bust on each other a lot., and I and I challenge I said, "Okay, everybody say something great about the other one. " how hard that is for them. I'm like, "You can't say one THING. YOU CAN'T THINK OF ONE THING, ? ", and it's not that they couldn't, but it's so much it's so funny how easy it is to pick each other apart.

It's so easy to talk about how hard life is. It's so easy to talk about the grind and the hustle. Man, let me tell you something. A little bit of life, a little bit of joy, a little bit of fun. I welcome that and I want to create that. And we have all the joy. We have all the liberty. We have all the freedom. We have all the reason to be alive and be refreshed. And so my point is, man, we're going to have fun doing things that we like doing. We're going to we're going to play some flag football a few weeks this fall, and you're going to hear more about it. But we're going to we're going to launch covenant sports. We've launched the academy. Man, we're we're making improvements. We grabbed Church youth Church by the tail last year, and man, we're refining and growing there. And it's just fun to watch. I mean, there are young people that are in here tonight that have been coming but that are the same way for a lot of you have I'll say stumbled in and man, God's doing a work in their life. And this is what we do. We're fishers of men. This is what we're doing, man.

We want to attract people and say, "Come back to come back home. Come back to the kingdom. Come back to God. " But then there's a disciplehip process. And we're having a lot of conversations right now about disciplehip that we can do this fall. Man, I don't know. I an hour a week is not enough for me. And it's not that I need to talk more, but at the same time when I say that, it's not enough for me to want be able to help you that want help. Man, a lot of a lot of new believers in here. A lot of people that are new to the faith. A lot of people are new. It's like, man, where do you start? I can't I can't do it an hour. I could talk for three hours tonight, but I think a lot of you walk out. I'm just telling you, I it's hard for me to like, what am I going to talk about this week? Because I want to tell you a lot. And so there's an opportunity where it's like, man, some of you that are new in the faith, some of your new believers, I'd love to get together another night of the week and just let me help you. Let's spend some time. Let's talk about a few topics. Give you a chance to ask questions.

But at the same time, we got to be building leaders and developing leaders. Just you may be you may be a little long tooth in the faith. You may have been around most your life. That's great. But man, we got to get on the same page and have the same chemistry because let me tell you something. When not if, but when people from all over the country come here for ministry, we've got to have strong leadership. We've got to have strong chemistry. We got to speak the same language because we got to be ready to host them and take care of them. And when they leave, go, "My gosh, that was an amazing experience with God. And it's going to be through your hands. It's going to be through your words of encouragement. It's going to be through your Acts of service, your Acts of love. " And that's what's in front of us is those opportunities. And I'm just excited to be a part of it. and I hope you are, too. We're going to keep you in the loop. there's so many areas for you to get involved and serve. I mean, obviously the I don't know how many weeks it'll be, but, I'm so thankful to be here in the summer and then in the fall we'll go back over to the landing and there's things that we can do there that we can't do here and there's things we can do here that we can't do there. And I love that we have both options. When we go there, we go back to, having meals and things and hospitality and welcoming people.

There'll be a lot of people that'll start circling around just because of a change and a new opportunity. It's another fresh start for people, but there's room to be involved. hospitality setup, clean up. It's the same thing in here., we're looking at we're looking at creating an internship program for a secondary level of young people. I mean, we're in the process of building that. And all I'm telling you is there's a lot of things that are in the works. So, the first thing I would ask you to do is be in prayer. Just be praying for it. This is not my party. This is not my idea or my shop or my gig or my thing., I guess I'm privileged to get to quarterback it because I'm here with the microphone. But let me tell you, we together build opportunities for people to grow. We together are what going to make every experience an awesome experience with the talents and the giftings that you bring to it., but we're building as we go. And so, number one, just be in prayer about it, man. That the right people come along. The Bible Jesus said this. He said the harvest is great. Everybody say, "The harvest is great.

" The harvest is great, man. We love harvest time. It's a lot of work. Harvest time is a lot of work, ain't it? It's a lot of work. You've been planting and growing, but now you got to go get it. It's a lot of work. And the harvest is great. It's a big old harvest, man. We want that harvest. It's plentiful. It's great. It's prosperous. It's blessing. Harvest is great. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THE LABORERS are few. Everybody loves the idea of a harvest, but nobody wants to go out and get it. And I'm just telling you, we have the opportunity. SO, YOU SAY, "WELL, I LOVE THE IDEA OF people coming from all over the country for ministry. " Well, okay, great.

Me, too. I'll challenge myself, but you take it and make it your own. What am I doing to get ready for that? What am I doing to prepare myself for that moment? What am I doing to get in gear for that? Man, what changes do I need to be making right now, growing, learning, challenge myself? What do we need to be doing as a team to be preparing for that? And so, we're just be in prayer about it and pray for laborers to come in. Pray for the right people be in the right place at the right time., she's not here and she would never ask for this, but I do want to just acknowledge it for what it's worth., Miss Kelly Jenkins is a has been a become a good friend and she's become an asset to us in the academy. She's our head teacher and just loves the Lord. She's responsible for a few salvations in here too, just over the years., and we became friends, just through the landing. Her mom worked there before she passed when I was a kid and we got a bunch of funny stories and, anyway, it's just cool how God brought us together. Well, she became our head teacher at the academy. Going into the summer, I just said, "Hey, we were going through some transitions., a lot of you guys know, if you've been here from the beginning, Danny and Janet were a big part of our kids ministry for two years. And they have a Church out in Rocky Falls. Rocky out at Rocky Creek.

Yeah. And, [clears throat] and we're faithful for two years and went through a transition. And so, we were kind of, coming together to volunteer, teach, and it's hard when we have one service because I want everybody in the room, but we also got to have a place for kids to go and we still need a place for toddlers and babies to go. But the point is this. I said, "Hey, Miss Kelly, would you be willing to help us this summer? ", and, man, I was willing to throw her a bone. And she said, "I don't want anything for it. I just want to help. " And she committed the summer. And I said, "Look at the end of the summer, we can re-evaluate., I'll give you an out if you want an out or whatever, but it'd be a big help this summer. " And she came to me on her own and said she wanted to keep doing it and being the teacher as we go into the school year. And I'm very grateful for that. I'm telling you that because I want you to be grateful that because there's a gifting in her life and her being committed to it. she's involved and plugged in another Church which I think is great and then comes and teaches our kids and I mean she's passionate about it and it's a big deal. So knowing that your kids are getting a great lesson and being around somebody with a gift in their life but I appreciate her commitment and it opens the door for somebody to be here and I just want to champion her and if her man appreciate her, love on her, celebrate her. If you don't, you want to get to know her sometime because she's great. But I'm thankful for that and things are just happening. Things are growing and I don't mean to talk this long. I'm just trying to give a little bit of vision and encouragement, I guess.

But there's a lot of great things that are happening. Be in prayer about it and be in prayer about what you can do and how you can be involved. And I can't say right now, okay, hey, you go here, you go there. I'm just telling you, be open, be sensitive, and say, man, I can help develop that. I can help grow that. I can build that. I can bring that. I can buy that. It's going to take all of us to accomplish it. And it's a process of trusting God's timing, but I'm just telling you, it's in motion, and we're just going to trust God and his leadership with it. Can y'all do that with me? Are we cool with that?, that was a hearty amen. Thank you. U, [laughter] let me get some water. Get that on video. How about John? I said it last week. I appreciate John videoing of course., can I just tell you, and this is not that I'm not stroking him, his ego or anything like that, but he just took initiative to do that and I appreciate it and he's got a little bit of background with some of that and he took initiative to do it and we talked and worked together.

He just didn't go all rogue on it. But my point is saw an opportunity that he could help and wanted to help and then we figured it out and that's how it's going to be going forward. And a lot of you guys, man, you may be able to help do some media, do some communications. That's a whole another department. But anyway, be involved with it. Okay. I want to talk to you just briefly tonight, just for about an hour and a half about repentance. Okay. [laughter] Repentance., last week we talked about the prodical Son the last couple of weeks. Verse one of chapter 15 talks about how tax collectors and notorious sinners would come and listen to Jesus. They were intrigued by the message. They were intrigued by the good the good message. They were intrigued by what he was saying. They were intrigued by the authority with which he communicated. And and then the Pharisees in verse two are the ones complaining about it. So he told him the parable and he tells them the parable of the lost Son. And we talked about that the last couple weeks and I'm not trying to bring it back up, but I do want to acknowledge something in that story he told when the young Son, the younger Son came home. Listen to me. Listen to me.

He had to want to come home. And then he had to take steps coming home. There had to be a change in his heart. It wasn't this idea that I've messed up and man, I know dad loves me from where I'm at and I know dad cares about me and that's enough. No, no. He wanted to come home. And in coming home, that was the condition to experience the benefits, the blessings of living at home with the Father again. He was always welcome at home. But he had he had gone away. But when he came to his senses, the Bible said it said that it that he came home. He arose and went back thinking he could just be a servant. But my point is this tonight is that he wanted to come home. And he arose. He got up and he be to return home. And when the Father of course saw him in the distance, ran out to meet him and restored him back as a Son. Last week we talked about the example of Matthew who was another tax collector and Jesus says I want you to follow me and he embraced that idea of following Jesus and he didn't get it all polished and fixed up first and we joke about this a lot but it's like getting in shape before you go to the gym. We want to get everything in order and get everything perfect and everything polished before we start coming back to Church. Want to get things in order. And it's like dad gum it none of that stuff on the matter on the surface is what matters to God. God wants our heart and repentance is this.

It is opening my heart to the things of God in my life. Man, I didn't care. I didn't care before. I knew about God, but I didn't want to know God. And now I've opened my heart. I repent from that. And I want all of God I can get. I've opening my heart to the things of God. I've got to turn from my way of doing things and open my heart to that. And so Matthew the tax collector was invited to follow Jesus and his heart was open to that. He gets out of his tax collector booth and says, "Let's go. " And it says that sometime LATER HE INVITED A BUNCH OF FRIENDS, A bunch of other tax collectors and a bunch of other notorious sinners to his house and he says, "Jesus, will you come over and have dinner with us? " And he does. And he and he he ministers to him and he talks to him. And the Pharisees didn't like that. I'm going to show you I guess we're going to stay in a vein here with this because I'm going to show you a couple more examples of the same thing these Pharisees were doing. Man, Jesus is loving broken people. Can anybody in here relate to being broken in some form or fashion? Can anybody in here relate to being defaulted or deficient or knowing you're not perfect or knowing you've messed up? Romans chapter 7 and it's on the computer if you want to find it.

But Romans chapter 7 and verse 19. here's a little piece of homework if you're relatively new. Go read Romans chapters 67 and 8. And just read it like you would read a book., a lot of times a lot of different ways to read the Bible and I'm not going to go into all that right now, but just read chapters 6,7 and 8. But in verse seven, Paul's wrestling with stuff. And the whole context of chapter 7 is that fulfilling the law is not enough in and of ourselves. We cannot be perfect enough by keeping the law. And he says in verse 19, he says, "I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. " I feel that when I READ THAT VERSE, I FEEL THAT, MAN. Let me tell you something. I have repented in the sense that I have come to Jesus and made the Lord of my life. But now AS A CHRISTIAN, CAN I DO THINGS BETTER? A resounding hoodie who? Yes. Okay. Can I be a better husband? CAN I IMPROVE THAT? CAN I BE A BETTER DAD?

CAN I BE BETTER IN MY HEALTH? CAN I BE MORE DISCIPLINED in areas of my life? Yes. Can I be more disciplined in my worth? Can I be more quick to forgive? Can I? Yes. But let me tell you something. And I told my kids this TODAY AT LUNCH. MAN, EVERYBODY IN HERE IS GREAT AT SOME things and everybody in here is not great at other things. And I'm right here IN THIS VERSE. I THINK EVERYBODY can feel this in your heart. Man, I I want I want to do better as a husband and then I don't do it. Things will prompt in my heart. I may even have a sense like, man, that's something from the Holy Spirit and I don't ACT ON IT. WHY NOT? What is it that's resisting that? WHY DIDN'T I ACT ON IT FAST ENOUGH? that procrastination. Man, I I DON'T WANT TO DO things and I find myself doing it.

And they don't have to be major extreme. Let me help you with something. Again, we like to rank our sin and we like to rank how grotesque something is. The bottom line is the Bible says in Romans chapter 14, the last verse, to him who knows to do and doesn't do, to him that has sinned. Well, shoot. There's a lot of moments where I've known to do and didn't do. There's a lot of times when I wanted to do good where God dropped something in my heart and I didn't do it. There's a lot of times I didn't want to do something again and I'm tired of doing that and I find myself doing I'm wrestling and I feel that verse. Well, let me help you with something. Th This is who Jesus came to help. See, we couldn't do enough. So, we drop down a couple verses. I think it's near the last verse. What's it say on the TV? It says, "Oh, what a miserable person I am now. Oh, what a wretched man that I am in and of myself. What a what a what a flawed individual I am. What a broken individual I am. What a what a mess up I've become. And let me tell you something.

This is not our identity. This is Paul recognizing I can't do it. I can't be perfect enough. Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Sin is being SEPARATED FROM God BY MYSELF. I CAN'T DO IT. I CAN'T keep the law. Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? What's the next verse say? Thank God. Everybody say, "Thank God. " God. This is why we SING, "HOW GREAT IS OUR God. " THIS IS WHY IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU. IT'S ABOUT HIM. It's not about your performance. IT'S NOT ABOUT BEING PERFECT. THIS is why, how great is our God. You're not saying, "How great am I doing? Look at me go.

HOW GREAT IS OUR God? WHY? THE answer is in Jesus the Christ our Lord, man. He rescued us. He qualifies us. He makes us right. Who's going to rescue me from me? WHO'S GOING TO MAKE ME QUALIFIED? WHO'S GOING TO MAKE ME GOOD ENOUGH? In and of myself, I'm a miserable person. SO, THERE'S GOT to be this place though when Jesus has become the answer for me. Now, my sins are forgiven. I'm in right standing with God. I've turned to God. But now this journey of becoming a disciple, of following Jesus, of imitating Jesus, man, there are convictions along the way that I've got to be open to. God wants me to put that down or put that down. SO, THERE'S TWOFOLD that I'm going with this message. I don't ever want to be the people that are as a as a especially as a Church body that are condemning people because they haven't perfected on the outside what God's done on the inside yet. You can give your life to Jesus and still have a bad habit of cussing that does. Now watch this is a beautiful tension I like to call it.

At the same time there can be and you don't and you don't have to stop cussing to come to Jesus. But now that you've come to Jesus I'm not tell you got to STOP ANYWAY. BUT IF God DROPS A CONVICTION in your heart now because you have submitted to him let ME FOLLOW HIS LEADERSHIP. SO NOW I'M GOING TO discipline myself because I've chosen to follow him. This is what it means to say his way is better. I'm just using cussing as example. I'm using drinking example. If you have a beer, is that your Heaven or hell? IS THAT ETERNITY? NO. If you if you screw up and you say you say, "Damn, is that is that are YOU GOING TO HELL? " NO. But here's what I'm going TO TELL YOU. IF I'M GOING TO FOLLOW Jesus, IF I want to BE A LEADER, IF I WANT TO CREATE OPPORTUNITY, IF God'S ASKING ME TO DO SOMETHING, whatever it is, I'M GOING TO GO, "YES, SIR. I'm going to work on that in and of myself. Am I going to be perfect at IT THE FIRST DAY? " NO. THERE CAN BE miraculous moments where God delivers us from things, man. Everybody in here's got a story or knows a story of somebody who's been delivered from addiction, man. been delivered from a sickness or disease, seen a miracle happen in people's lives.

And there's other people that have battled addiction and won. There's some people that might be in the process of battling addiction. I'm not going to condemn their eternity or their heart because they're still battling with a behavior that they've done for the last 50 or 60 years of their life or 30 years of their life or 10 years of their life. I'm going to love them, embrace them, and welcome them and be like the loving Father. We're going to take the heart of God and say, "Man, let's get you cleaned up. " Not look at me. Look at me, please. I I wrestled with the right words. Not clean them up to perform. And I'm going to try to show you the Scripture. Not clean you up to make you like a little, puppet type thing, like a like a good Church boy. That's what I'm looking for. Clean you up. THE FRUIT OF YOUR LIFE is not that you have a fancy Pharisee hat. The fruit of your life is that people see the change in your heart. I don't care if you got long hair or short hair or no hair. I don't care if you're BIG OR TALL OR SKINNY OR I DON'T CARE. The fruit of your life is the fruit of the Holy Spirit which comes from a heart change of saying, "God, I open my heart to you. I'm allowing your leadership in my life. I want your way.

I want your Truth function in my life. " That's where we want to be. And so, man, we want to be again like the heart of the Father that says, "Come in. " And we get them in that robe of righteousness. The process of getting cleaned up, the process of learning to walk in that righteousness, the process of what it means to have that ring on your finger. Most of us in here don't understand the authority that we walk in as a Son or a daughter of the kingdom. We don't know what that means. Again, I can use a simple example, and most of my story. So if I go to the landing, man, if if my dad owns it, he flips me the keys. I can go where I want to go because he's given me permission to go. BUT IF I DON'T USE IT, it's of no value. But I have the right and the privilege to go wherever I want in that property, in that place. That's what it is to be a Son or daughter. We have the keys to the kingdom. We can operate the fullness of God in our life if we are willing to submit and allow it to be in our life. If we embrace it and go, I will embrace the role of a Son. I will take the keys and I will use the keys to live this life that God's called us to. That ring, the sandals, all of that is what God wants to do., let's go to Luke 18 verse 9. And then we're going to come back to one other example.

Luke 18:9. Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else. Wow. Kim, did you read that verse? I'm going to read it again. I've read this like four times today and that verse just now jumped out at me. Jesus told this story to who? Some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else. Don't be that guy. Listen, Jesus is helping them. Jesus is loving them. There are people like that. Even if we're not that, if we weren't going to be that, there might be people, that are like that. WE'RE NOT GOING TO CONDEMN them either. Jesus is reaching out to them. Jesus is trying to help them. This is why he's telling them the story. Verse 10, two men went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other was a despised tax collector. I'm telling you, tax collectors were the bad guys.

They all these stories tax collectors were the bad guys. Again, it wasn't because they collected taxes. It was because a heart issue that they had embraced the Roman system. They had forsaken their own people even though they grew up the same way they all grew up. They were they were in the character of someone who is betrayed, right? Trust has been broken and they're thieving a little bit off the top. More than likely, one a Pharisee and the other was a despised tax collector. In other words, let's take tax collector off and just use the term broken individual again, man. Somebody that's not doing right. Somebody that's not part of the fold. Somebody that's not attending Church regularly. Somebody that's not far along in their walk with the Lord. Somebody that's brand new, right? Somebody that's got some some hiccups in their life. Verse 11, the Pharisee stood by himself and he prayed this prayer. Now listen to his prayer. I thank you, God, that I am not like other people, cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I'm certainly not like that tax collector. I fast twice a week and I give you a tenth of my income. Those are great practices.

Those are great disciplines. Everybody in here, listen, everybody in here should tithe. Everybody in here should fast. That dude was fasting twice a week. I cannot tell you the last time I fasted. [laughter] I know some people in here that have a pretty healthy practice of it. Personally, I hate it. And everything in your flesh hates it. And the people I know that practice it aren't like, "Oh, yeah. I can't wait to go without food for a while. " Nobody's excited about it. But this gentleman's doing a COUPLE THINGS RIGHT, BUT HE'S PROUD OF IT. LIKE, THAT'S HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Instead of the humility that's doing it because I want all of God I can get, he's doing it to perform for God and separate himself from everybody else. And God, I thank you that I'm not like these people, especially that dude. Let me tell you, if anything in your heart is ever like that, if you start to see it, you pray, "God, Psalm 138, search my heart. If there's anything in me that's not of you, reveal it to me. " If there are things in your heart, when you think about people, you go, "I'm thank I'm thankful I'm not like them. " That's that's different than thanking God for what you have that what God's blessed you with what Thank you, God, for my home. Thank you for my bed.

Thank you. But God, I don't pray, God, I think I'm not like them. That is so scornful and so despiteful and so condemning. [clears throat] We don't ever want to be like that. And so here's Jesus finish the story. He says he says verse 13, but the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to Heaven as he prayed. Not because we got to be beat up, not because we got to be woe as me. It was it was a posture of humility because he understood that he was flawed in the sight of a Holy God. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, "Oh God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner. " Verse 14, I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. What in this picture is a posture of a man's heart. On the surface, one's all polished and pretty. Got the fancy hat and the fancy robe. Fast twice a week, gives a tenth of his income. Man, he's doing all the things right. And yet, his heart is far from God. The other one is broken and flawed, but understands that he has a need for a Savior. His heart is repentant to God. God, I know that I mess up.

So, we go back to Romans 7. God, I know that I didn't do the thing you put in my heart to do. It doesn't mean we're not going to Heaven. It doesn't mean you're s you haven't been made right with God. It's just that I know I I dropped the ball again today. I know I made a mistake again today. AND SO, WE DON'T WANT TO BEAT OURSELVES up and say, "Well, I'm disqualified from the things of God because I can't get it right. " Of course, you can't get it right in and of yourself. WHAT WE'RE LEARNING TO DO WITH A repentant heart is to continue to get good at obeying quickly. It's that simple. We're getting good at when God JUMPS INTO MY HEART TO SAY, "OKAY, God, I'LL work on that. I'll act on that. " When God I remember one time, man, we were having a I don't know what we were doing, like a 21-day fast at the Church. This is in Tulsa. It's probably been 15 years ago, 10, 15 years ago. And we were having lunchtime prayer. The Church was open on at noon during the fast and come up and pray for an hour and all that stuff. And I remember while I was there, Nina and I had fussed about something. I don't know if you guys if you guys fuss in your marriages, but we had fussed. And I remember like the verse was probably in my heart about if you got anything in your heart towards somebody, go and ask for forgiveness before praying, whatever.

So I'm sitting there, she's on the other side of the deal, right? And God drops my heart to just go and apologize and ask for forgiveness. That was the longest walk of my life, walking through that sanctuary all the way to the other side so I could ask my wife to forgive me. Now, that should not be hard. But my pride, my arrogance wants to get in the way. And it's just like, it's not a big deal. God forgives me. That's sloppy, sloppy doctrine. We have a responsibility. This is what a repentant heart does. It's got action to it. I don't want to just say, "Well, God will forgive me. Well, I'm going to I'm going to go ahead and screw up and do this because I know God's going to forgive me. " Let me tell you something. That's not following Jesus. That's not following. NOW, IF I FALL PREY TO TEMPTATION, I got sidetracked. I I got crabby. I got tired. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS GET tired and crabby.

Get tired and crabby and you kind of lose your temper sometimes or you pop off. Listen, I'm not justifying it. I'M JUST SIMPLY SAY SOMETIMES WE SLIP UP. BUT DOG GONE IT. GET UP. MAKE IT RIGHT. APOLOGIZE WHERE YOU NEED TO APOLOGIZE. HEY, forgive me. I'm tired. Stella, I'll do this now with my kids. I've apologized my kids more times than I can count right now. And it's usually, "Hey, man. I dad overreacted. " I probably don't apologize for every time I do. Sometimes I'm right and they're wrong and they need a little correction. Other times I overreacted. why? I was crabby. I was tired. I was impatient.

Let me go ahead and own it and say, "Yo, dad was wrong. I apologize. Will you forgive me? " And they're quick to forgive. But let me TELL YOU SOMETHING. WE'VE GOT TO be humble enough that when God treats your heart to say, "Man, go and apologize or go make it right or be a blessing to somebody or start tithing or start fasting or or go buy somebody a coffee or get up early and spend some time with me or stop looking at my phone. " Man, that conviction in your life, we want to get good as disciples and followers to go, "Yes, sir. I'm on it. " Not like, "Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll think about it, Jesus. Let me let me ponder. Let me let me get with my peeps and figure it out and I'll get back to you. Right? If Jesus says, "Let's go. We're going. " That's what's great. In the Old Testament, the Israelites, you may not know the story, man. They were wandering through the wilderness. There was fire by night, cloud by day. And let me tell you, when that fire started moving at night time, guess what they're doing?

They're packing up and going. If that cloud starts moving by day, they're packing up and going. If they're in a place and they like, "Man, can we get out of this place? " Not if the fire is not going. If the presence of God ain't going, I ain't going. If the presence of God is going, I'm going. That's what we want to get good at. I'm walking with God. We're following Jesus, right? Let me let me show you another story here in Matthew chapter 19 and we'll wrap it up. Many of this story, but in verse one, Jesus entered Jericho and he made his way through the town. Again, crowds of people all around him. Everybody knows his reputation's growing. Everybody wants to see what's going on. There is a man there. His name was Zakius. He was the chief tax collector. Here we go with tax collectors again. This dude's in charge of other tax collectors. He's the chief tax collector.

He's even more stinky. He's even more hated. He's he's of the people that are hated. He's one of the chief leaders of it. He's really stealing from the people. He's one of the bad guys. Okay? But he's intrigued by Jesus. He's heard Jesus is coming to town. He wants to get a look at him. He wants to see him for himself because it wasn't like we live today. And you got to remember that it was a big deal. Jesus is coming through town and he's got wind of it. He wants to go see him and so he can he's heard about him. He's heard the reputations preced him. He wants to go see what's going on. And he says this, he was the chief tax collector in the region and he had become very rich because of it. Verse three, he tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore fig tree beside the road for Jesus was going to pass that way. So again, I want to show you something at the intentionality of Zakius.

Let's give Zakius a shout out. Let's give him some props. He heard that Jesus was coming and he knew the p the path that he was taking and he ran ahead instead of saying, "Well, I can't seem. Well, I it's hard for me to do five o'clock on Sunday nights. Well, it's I can't, he ran ahead and climbed a tree because he he thought ahead of where Jesus was going and he knew he couldn't see. So, he came with a solution to see Jesus. There was a pursuit. Few weeks ago, we talked about, the friends cutting a hole in the roof. The lady crawling on her hands and knees to touch the hem of his garment. Zakius climbing a tree. There's an intentionality. The Prodigal Son returning home. There is a repentance. There's a behavior that says, "God, I'm in and I'm coming. I'm coming for you. I'm with you. " Not just like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know God's good and this love grace and he'll forgive me and I know about God. " No, no, no. I want to know God.

I want to walk with him. So, he goes ahead. He climbs a tree so he can see him. Verse five. When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zakius and called him by name. Zakius, he said, quickly come down here. I do want to make a quick draw here. The Bible says in I believe it's first John it says as we draw near to him he draws near to us. Do you understand that Jesus saw Zakius because he was in the tree and he was in the tree because of his effort and intentionality to get ahead and go climb the tree because of his desire to want to see Jesus. Jesus saw him and Jesus knew who he was and he calls him by name. Jesus knows you by name. And I'm just telling you he'll meet you right where you're willing to go meet him at. And he said I must be a guest in your home today. What's cool about that is that as it's a royal privilege that they can just say that I I want to I'm going to be at your house. He was operating in his kingly position saying I must be a guest in your house today. There was a privilege and a right that he had as a king operating in a king to impose on somebody like that. Verse six, Zakius quickly climbed down. Look at his attitude. Look at the posture of his heart. This is a chief tax collector.

This is a broken man. This is a man who we would say is currently living in sin, living apart from God, but curious and inquiring and hungry. Quickly, he climbs down and he took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. He could have he listen two things. Number one, he could have not taken him. And number two, he could have done it with a lot of fear and trembling and no joy and excitement. Zakius is jacked. He's excited to want to spend time with Jesus. He was excited to have him in his house. He wasn't afraid to have him in his house. He was excited that he was willing to come to his house and he opened his doors. He quickly came down and he and he took him there with excitement and joy. But watch the people were displeased. Man people haters hate. There's a song I was playing the other day. I I really want to play it for you. I might do it tonight. I don't know. And in my heart I see you guys dancing. And in my reality, you're not going to.

But I can see it in my heart and THE SONG THAT'S PROBABLY NOT EVEN A GREAT SONG, but he's that the guy's saying, "Walk that walk. " And all the haters do is talk that talk. And he's just going to if they talked about Jesus, they're going to talk about you. Jesus went to their house and here we go again. The people, this doesn't even say the religious leaders, just the people. Shall I say the Church folks didn't like that Jesus was going there. And here's the thing before you get on the other side of Church folk to get on this big mantra about hanging out. Let me tell you something. Jesus didn't go to his house to get to their level. Jesus went in to make impact. Jesus didn't go in there to stay. He said I must come knowing he was on mission to keep going. So if you got this idea that you're going to go hang out and live in the slums because you're trying to be relevant, let me tell you something. You're going to lose that one. You're going to end up being pretty slummy. Man, I remember thinking that this is a funny story that I guess my daughter's going to learn about me now, but I can remember I mean partying and I can remember giving my life to Jesus at 19 for the first time as a young adult and then falling away and getting sidetracked and then I became like the cleancut party guy. You guys know what I'm talking about? Like before I used to go to the dark places to party, but then you get a little more mature about it. So now you like party at your house, what I mean? Like just with people and trust.

Well, that's what I do. But then I start thinking, man, I want to get to folks and so in my thoughts to be relevant, I'm going to where they are and then I'm behaving like they're behaving and I can't formulate full sentences. So there's no way for me to help communicate the Gospel. I don't know if you guys can relate to this, but the idea that you can go to where they are and behave like they're behaving to the under the umbrella of being relevant is not how that works. You're bringing life. You're a changed individual. We have a repented heart and we're moved with compassion for those who don't know yet. And so our connection, our outreach is to go and bring life to them, not to go and stay at their level. Am I making sense what I'm saying right here? There's a there's a beautiful tension to this. And all it really is getting good at being spiritledd. We're going to love people where they are. They might currently be a tax collector. We're not going to separate ourselves and condemn them. We're going to love them and welcome and embrace them. You're welcome to come in here. You're welcome to grow. This Gospel is for everybody. I'm not going to go and become a tax collector to try to re relate to tax collectors. Using that vernacular, man, I'm going to be the I'm not the Messiah when I say this, but I'm not a tax collector either.

So stay with my analogy here. I don't have to become a tax collector to relate to tax collectors. We get to be Christ in us. We get to we get to represent the Messiah and talk to tax collectors. Are you with me? We get to bring life to them. We get to bring Truth to them. We get to be the light in dark places for them. Okay. The people were displeased. He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner. They grumbled. Verse eight. Meanwhile, everybody say meanwhile. What I like about that, the reason I made you say it is BECAUSE WHILE THE PEOPLE ARE TALKING, change is happening to a man's heart. While the while the people have an opinion, lives are being saved. While people want to talk and grumble and gripe and have their perspective on it, somebody's life is being restored back to the kingdom. Meanwhile, Zakius stood before the Lord and he said, "I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord. And if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much. " Now, what's cool about that is he's actually referring to Exodus 22:1 where the restitution for somebody who's been a thief is to return four times over.

That's what he just did. He understood the Scripture. He understood the Old Testament law. He understood what it was. And he's saying, "Look, salvation has come to my home today. Salvation has come to my heart today. Repentance has changed. My heart has changed to you. And now I will no longer think and talk this way. I will now react and respond this way. " The fruit of it became in their life and you can see in the Zakius life. They want to keep him labeled a chief tax collector, but the fruit of his life shows that he's now born again, that he's now a new creation, that he has repented in his heart. I will give back four times as much. Verse 9, Jesus responded, "Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself. " Man, James said it like this. You you say that you have faith versus works. He said, "I will show you my faith with my works. You're going to see that I love God with how I love people. You're going to see that I love God in the way that I spend my money. You're going to see that I love God in the way that I interact with folks.

You're going to see the fruit of my heart being open to the things of God because out of my heart flows the issues of life. You're going to see the heart of God in every issue of my life because I've opened my heart to him. There's been a repentance in my heart. " He says, "He has shown himself to be a true Son of Abraham. " Verse 10, "For the Son of man came to seek and save those who are lost. " Can I just let you meditate on this as we close? The purpose of Jesus coming, look, was to not only just save, but to seek and save. Man, that's got a mission-minded element to it. Everything that we're doing is not to try to build an empire. We're on a mission to reach people who are lost. We're on a mission to attract them. We are fishing for people now. So everything we're doing is to grab their attention to bring them back to the kingdom of God. We want to love them where they are. Create creative avenues. Invite them to fun things. Be hospitable and friendly. Love them where they're at so that they will be open to the things of God. And God can do something great in their heart. Let me tell you something.

We can only do so much. I would love to reach in Greg's heart and grab his heart and heal his heart. I can't do it. But what I can do and what we can do together is create an atmosphere where people can come in and the Word of God and the atmosphere of God and the presence of God and a little bit of encouragement say, "Hey, we're going to sing this song one more time. Open your heart. " The presence of God will come in and do in his heart what I can't do. And that's what we're doing. That's what the Church is. And when we get together, we have the privilege of being family because I need the accountability of him in my life as much as he needs the accountability of me IN HIS LIFE. WHY? because we're all Romans chapter 7 verse 19. I need the accountability of him in my life to to be the disciple of the follower of Jesus that I want to be. I need your accountability in my life. I need it in my life. I want to be a disciple. That's the discipline. And until I find the self discipline and the self-control to follow, I need a little bit OF ACCOUNTABILITY TO HELP me with the discipline. This is why you have a Church family. This is why it's important to be in the room. This is why because the Word's washing your heart.

Things are becoming unlocked. The lights ARE COMING ON. God'S HEALING YOUR HEART. God'S CHANGING your heart. Relationships get built. This is why it matters that you're involved in any level. Playing basketball, playing fantasy football, going to the river together, playing music together. Get together BECAUSE WHEREVER YOU GET TOGETHER, YOU TAKE Jesus with you. Let's go PLAY MUSIC. NOW, IF THAT'S WHAT'S FUN TO YOU, LET'S GO PLAY MUSIC for Jesus. YOU LIKE PLAYING FOOTBALL? GREAT. LET'S GO PLAY FOOTBALL FOR Jesus. You like you like knitting? Sweet. Let's knit for Jesus because WE CAN GET TOGETHER AND HAVE A CUP OF COFFEE AND DO SOME KNITTING AND BUILD ONE ANOTHER up with the Word. Hey, what about this? Let's work for Jesus. Let's bring a light to our work for Jesus. THAT'S WHAT WE GET TO DO.

And when we get together, man, sometimes life gets hard. So, we get together, what do we do, man? We begin to sing how great is our God. God begins to re restore, heal, and we encourage one another, and we become better because we're in the room together. Man, let's be the people that say, "Man, I want to repent, and make Jesus Lord of my life. And now that I'm following, man, let me let me be let me be good. Let me get good at quick obedience. Let me get good at that conviction. Let me get good at repenting for being selfish in that area of my marriage, for being selfish in my parenting. For being selfish with my money. Let me repent for that. " and turn and show that God's done a work in my heart in that area of my life. Atonement, salvation, Jesus transformation, getting my mind renewed that I may live and show the fruit of a repentant heart in my life. I don't want to get sloppy and go, "Oh yeah, I'm forgiven. " I don't want to get sloppy. Oh yeah, God's going to love me anyway. Oh yeah, God's going to show me great. No, no, no. I'm going to be all in. I'm repenting and following hell.